The Bears historically haven’t had much luck at the quarterback position, as evidenced by the last 100 years.
Chicago hopes they’ve found a franchise quarterback in Mitch Trubisky, who’s entering his third season with plenty of expectations.
And while a lot of the conversation has surrounded Trubisky and his growth in year three, there’s another quarterback discussion happening around the Bears — the backup quarterback situation.
NFL analyst Phil Simms believes that the Bears have one of the worst backup quarterback situations in the NFL, with Chase Daniel.
“I saw him play those two games last year, especially outdoors, you have to worry a lot,” Simms said of Daniel. “You have a Super Bowl team, and if you have to go on the road… or in Chicago or anywhere else, I think the situation is not perfect. He’s going to struggle, it’s plain and simple.”
When Mitch Trubisky missed two games with a shoulder injury last season, Daniel proved to be a capable backup against the Lions on Thanksgiving. But the following week he didn’t look like he belonged out on the field in a road loss to the Giants.
It’s been much of the same in preseason, which is worrisome with Daniel going up against starters or even backups. His preseason performance hasn’t been encouraging, which isn’t what you want out of your backup quarterback when your team has the talent to be a title contender.
What does Bears coach Matt Nagy make of Daniel’s struggles?
“I guess I’m probably a little biased because I know Chase better than anybody — better than anybody,” Nagy said Monday, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I know Chase. It’s not an easy deal that he gets put into every preseason. That’s part of being a backup. You’re the favorite when you get put in in some situations during the season, but in these situations everyone expects you to be the best ever.
“For me, he’s a coach out there on the field. He gets so many things that people don’t see. He gets people aligned in the huddle the right way, he’s looking at the play clock, he makes things a lot easier for you as a coach than a lot of other different quarterbacks in that spot.”
And while that’s all fine and dandy, Daniel’s not an offensive coach. He’s a player that happens to have been tasked with mentoring Trubisky.
But at the end of the day, the Bears need someone reliable as their backup quarterback should the unthinkable happen.
With the Bears being a legitimate contender this season, depth has certainly been a concern in some areas, namely at backup quarterback.
